The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-04-30

| into the pocket, seized all the crumpled
! bills, the change and the keys, and no one
of the thousands Of people thereabout was
the wiser though it was the clearest Of
days and not yet eleven o'clock in the
morning The silver that Mulvey gave him
was mighty fortune, but dearer still was
! the praise as the illustrious one patted him
on the back and said:
| "Cork, " done good. Yer credit to the
perfesh. If " amt" added the Bad Man.
violently, "Im ringtailed snipe-which. !;
| he continued with an air of engaging can
dor as he strolled off, Il needn't remark
| that / ANTI
Before noon there was new hero in the
Fourth ward and Corkey was overwhelmed
with honors. He bought tarts by the score
at Mrs. Murphy's shop, and told again and
again how he and Bad Man Mulvey-that
gentleman had disappeared from society, as
was his well-known cautious habit after
any little stroke of business-had made
their haul. By three o'clock Corkey had
whipped a boy considerable bigger than
himself, had fallen down cellar, made his
infant sister the singularly appropriate
present of pair of red-and-green shoulder
braces, broken two windows, taken dig
nified ride on the elevated road, been
knocked down by truck horse and mar
rowly escaped falling off pier.
At four o'clock he struggled up Frankfort
street for the second time that day, but
now he had firm hold of his mothers skirt
The human tide had turned the other way
and was surging up and down by this tine,
but Corkeys mother breasted it bravsx
while. the cripple hoped on in her waDe
whistling like a lark. Into the pushing,
a. md
children around the delivery window ofone
of the evening newspaper offices the mother
and son sailed courageously. All the news-
boys of lower New York were there fight
ing for precedence. In the window selling
the papers was young man with cigar in
his mouth and cold, calm eye He ad-
dressed his customers with great familiar
ity, never prefxing Mrs. to the names of the
women, and counting his papers with won
derful rapidly. No one could getthe papers
out of his hands before the money passed
into them. He had clear cut, refined and
handsome face.
For time Corkey amused himself by
putting small stones on the Car tracks, and
then he fell to buildinga house of chips in
the gutter, as UNCONSCIOUS of the hum and
rumble and roar around him as though
alone on Manhattan Island.
The hours went by. The boy grew tired
of the gutter and followed the lamplighter
down Beekman street till he came to the
river. After two or three rebuffs he stole
under a truck at Fulton ferry and went
across on the boat several times
When he was put ashore again on the
New York side, Corkey went whistling up
Fulton street till he suddenly ran across
big boy who was sitting in doorway and
staring morosely at his toes. Corkey APP
preached him softly-for the boy was of
Importance, having once been in the house
of correction, and said:
"Wanter go to the tee-ayter, Chimmiel"
"What on2n said Jimmie, laconically.
81 got mum"
''Yaas " have!'' increduously. I
"Well, Itell " have"
'Well, dom l say " have?" asked jim
mic in conciliatory way. Then in more
busness-hke tone, ''lemme see it."
Corkey gave him all his money and with
in half an hour they were slowed away
fifty feet up in the air with hundreds of
other boys looking down at a Bowery vari-
ETY. show. 1t was short dream to Corkey.
The curtain fell at eleven o'clock, and the
little cripple was pushed and borne in the
wild mob down the black and dangerous
stairway to the street, where he fell on his
knees against the door-post faint, bruised,
breathless and in tears. But he struggled
up and clutched his companion just as that
amiable youth was striding away.
"Hullo, Maloney," he said quietly, as
Corkey's mother fought her way toward
him. "How many today"
Thirty sivln, may tn Lord luv We, Mis-
Their Alfred"
II hear, Maloney," said the young man
calmly, as he whisked the papers to her,
''that McGrath threatens to kick the head
off of you this evening at the bridge"
"She does, does shea" screamed the
woman wildly, but before she could say
more the crowd threw her aside, and the
man in the window turned his imperturb-
able face toward the next customer.
Corkey was still clinging tothe stalwart
woman's skirts as she emerged from the
crowd to catch her breath
care yez goin' to lick Mrs McGrath,
midders" he asked gleefully, looking up at
her.
"Howld yer jaw"
"Cause she said " wuz an Irish guy"
ga guy, is it!'
"Shure,n said Corl1ey, solemnly, and
without any outward Indication that he was
lying, Il Hcdru nef say III 1neSel!'
Mrs Maloney bit her lip, but she was
obliged to postpone her revenge and go
sturdily to work selling her papers and ut
tering an objurgation on the head of the
hated McGrath with every breath.
dom take all me money, Chimmie'' he
sobbed ''me legs hurried so bad kin never
walk t d bridge"
The other boy drew back his SCARED fist
and, without word, struck the cripple in
the face, sending him Keeling helplessly
against post, whence he fell into the
gutter and lay there, sobbing bitterly.
| No one cared. 1t was street arab in
trouble; nothing more. The boys hands
were clasped over his eyes.
There was a noise further up the street,
louder than the din of the elevated road and
the incessant jangle of the surface cars.
Above the Gathering of iron-shod hoofs
could be heard the clang of gong. The
child glanced up affrightedly toward the
| fire engine that was laundering down on
him. scrambled to his feet, tottered blindly
about for an instant, and fell in the path of
theplunging horses with his clenched hands
outstretched for mercy and the white face
turned upward. There were hoarse shouts
| from dozen threats and the shrill scream
| of woman rent the air. The driver threw
| himself back and strained at the reins as
the horses rose in the air, but the rush was
too great and the huge engine passed over
the crippled boy and crushed out the last
spark of life.
| Go andad tho Ia of dav In tho life of n child